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FORMING
COOPERATIVE
AMATEUR
PRODUCTION
UNITS
By BILL SEINEKE 1 JR 1
W HILE it is true that for some
time amateur cinematographers
have banded together for the pur­of
jointly producing scenario pie­'
such organizations have been the
11tio n rather than the rule. A reliable
UN·t informs us that the practise of
orking in crews has been wider spread ·
n England than in the United States.
hi. information is rather surprising,
\mericans have come to be char-
, riz d as excellent organizers. But
m rican amateurs are tardy in their
ognili on of the relatively vast number
f opportunities offered by cooperative
roduction , then it is our hope to add
mp us to t he movement in this country.
W propose t o do so by recommending
, ral basic principles for the organi­ion
of amateur production units. The
r ommendati ons are based upon experi-in
the field, experience which has
'l1 pitfalls t o be sidestepped which
otherwise mount into imposing and
unn c sary costs.
f :t often heard is the lament: "But
I c n't get next to anyone who will do
It !" Do what? W rite, act, direct. Attend
th innumerable details essential to
,. ry beginning of the production of
nario picture.
The Ma n He's Looking For
rlvanced amateurs, sated with the
rt of thing t h ey have done for years,
We were ·equally thankful to find a
man who echoed our own ambition to
stage good drama convincingly and en- ·
tertainingly. We said "stage" because
previous to joining forces with him, our
avocational medium had been the ama-teur
theater, a world of cues and
prosceniums and footlights.
Since our meeting, a whole panorama
of fascinating projects has been re­vealed
to us both. He concedes our
ability to manufacture and render story
and histrionics.
We recognize that he is an above
average technician, among the topnotch­ers
in amateur cinematography. Our
association has been productive and more
than satisfactory to date.
Strong on Alibis
Astonishing to us was this man's
statement that he had been unable to
find needed amateurs from other fields
who would string along with him.
And as if to demonstrate that the
condition is epidemic among cinematog­raphers,
we are hearing the cry ·repeat­ed
almost verbatim by members of our
expanding circle of cinema-minded ac­quaintances.
We can arrive at only one conclusion.
The average cinematographer must be
unaware of the potentialities within his
reach. He must be oblivious to the
indisputable fact that somewhere near
him are those individuals who would
welcome the opportunities to write, di-a
vociferous in their complaints as
b<-irinner who wants to plunge square­into
dramatic production. - rect and act in amateur motion pictures.
Th cinematographer with whom we
Jlained something of an insight into
intricacies of ambitious moviemaking
,d when we had completed one short:
b en looking for someone like you
r y ars."
JI meant that he was tickled to
to find people who would share
nthusiasm for cinematography, and
important) who would string
11 with him until the finished pro­ion
was s tamped with their joint
roval.
Why, such people even organize into
groups for the betterment of their re­spective
amateur skills!
Probing deeper, we think we have
found the reason. Let us state it un­blushingly
and then proceed to the
remedy.
When he casts about among his friends
for cooperation, the amateur movie bug
gets responses like these: "I can't act."
"I take a terrible picture; it ages me."
"Can't give up my Sunday golf." "I'm
tied down (married)."
All perfectly valid -alibis, some of
which can be gotten around. But in­stead
of showing the hopeful camera
addict that he is up the wrong alley,
they usually cause him to become dis­couraged.
Eventually he gives up the idea· of
doing a scenario picture at all, takes
pictures of his friend's Sunday golf and
of the others when they aren't looking.
Scenario Film
Occasionally his friends indulge his
whim. The picture is made in good­natured,
slipshod fashion, and the re-sult
is pretty awful. ·
Now we have summed up the situa­tion
as it painfully presents itself. We
believe you will agree it is a fairly
accurate picture of most amateurs. Let's
tu~n to the first step in the making of
your scenario film.
Being the first, the acquisition of a
writer is probably the most difficult
hurdle. Once you have him, he will aid
you in the selection of a story, your
second hurdle. Together, then, you can
much more easily round out the per­sonnel
of your company, which will be
your third.
The writer should be, among other
things, a dramatist. So, if you are in
a position to exercise a preference,
choose one whose forte is playwriting.
Getting that type of person is your
task, but we suggest that you may
find him in the employ of a newspaper
or attending a night school class in
creative writing.-
Of course, it's possible that he may
be, vocationally, a cement finisher or
the floormanager in a women's apparel
shop. But, surely, one of your friends
has a friend who has a friend who can
write.
Don't balk at the length of time you
may have to spend to locate this man.
What he can do for you will be worth it.
Stage and Screen
If you are very lucky, your writer .
will possess a knowledge of · certain
fundamentals of camera technique. If
you are wise, and he is not educated
in this respect, you will see to it that
he acquires that knowledge.
You will show him how much greater
is the scope of the camera than that
of the stage. In return he will remind
you of restrictions imposed because of
the necessity to use written subtitles in
lieu of spoken dialog.
Attend movies together. Later dis­cuss
them thoroughly. Absorb what you
both can of the technique of dramatiz­ing
story material for the screen.
Assuming that your writer is a drama­tist
and can translate what he has
written into convincing dramatic action,
by all means make him the director of
your company. If he has written plays,
he has probably taken part in them.
Their mechanics are as clear to him as
is the function of your camera to you.
(Continued on Page 476)
October, 1939 • AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER 441

FORMING
COOPERATIVE
AMATEUR
PRODUCTION
UNITS
By BILL SEINEKE 1 JR 1
W HILE it is true that for some
time amateur cinematographers
have banded together for the pur­of
jointly producing scenario pie­'
such organizations have been the
11tio n rather than the rule. A reliable
UN·t informs us that the practise of
orking in crews has been wider spread ·
n England than in the United States.
hi. information is rather surprising,
\mericans have come to be char-
, riz d as excellent organizers. But
m rican amateurs are tardy in their
ognili on of the relatively vast number
f opportunities offered by cooperative
roduction , then it is our hope to add
mp us to t he movement in this country.
W propose t o do so by recommending
, ral basic principles for the organi­ion
of amateur production units. The
r ommendati ons are based upon experi-in
the field, experience which has
'l1 pitfalls t o be sidestepped which
otherwise mount into imposing and
unn c sary costs.
f :t often heard is the lament: "But
I c n't get next to anyone who will do
It !" Do what? W rite, act, direct. Attend
th innumerable details essential to
,. ry beginning of the production of
nario picture.
The Ma n He's Looking For
rlvanced amateurs, sated with the
rt of thing t h ey have done for years,
We were ·equally thankful to find a
man who echoed our own ambition to
stage good drama convincingly and en- ·
tertainingly. We said "stage" because
previous to joining forces with him, our
avocational medium had been the ama-teur
theater, a world of cues and
prosceniums and footlights.
Since our meeting, a whole panorama
of fascinating projects has been re­vealed
to us both. He concedes our
ability to manufacture and render story
and histrionics.
We recognize that he is an above
average technician, among the topnotch­ers
in amateur cinematography. Our
association has been productive and more
than satisfactory to date.
Strong on Alibis
Astonishing to us was this man's
statement that he had been unable to
find needed amateurs from other fields
who would string along with him.
And as if to demonstrate that the
condition is epidemic among cinematog­raphers,
we are hearing the cry ·repeat­ed
almost verbatim by members of our
expanding circle of cinema-minded ac­quaintances.
We can arrive at only one conclusion.
The average cinematographer must be
unaware of the potentialities within his
reach. He must be oblivious to the
indisputable fact that somewhere near
him are those individuals who would
welcome the opportunities to write, di-a
vociferous in their complaints as
b